Good morning from the Today editorial team. Here’s Start, the news you need to know to start your day: It’s Wednesday May 24th, 2023.

BAKHMUT IS NO MORE. Bachmut remains a handful of rubble. There are snapshots that mark a before and after in the rest of the world’s perception of the war in Ukraine. This includes the very rare New York Times drone footage. Images that will end up in a peace museum in the future. An overview of burnt buildings, destroyed schools, cratered parks. What may seem like a foggy morning is the acrid smoke billowing from another night of relentless shelling. The city of peace in the Donbass, known for its salt mines and sparkling wine, is being reduced to rubble. The drones also filmed the uncertain steps of some civilians looking for an escape route. However, signs of life are the exception. About 100,000 Russian soldiers were killed and wounded in the battle for Bakhmut. Ukraine also suffered heavy casualties. A meat grinder.

Flooded Bonus. In the first post-flood relief decree, we note a necessary and desired transversal nature of the interventions: from tax deadlines to layoffs, from guarantees for small and medium-sized businesses to the recovery of health facilities. There is also a one-off bonus of up to EUR 3,000 (EUR 298 million is available for this purpose) for self-employed people who had to stop working due to the flood. For Meloni it is the first real test in the face of a serious emergency since his stay at Palazzo Chigi. The Commissioner for Reconstruction may not be Bonaccini: there is Salvini’s veto. In the meantime, the death toll has risen to 15, it should be the final number. The body of 68-year-old Fiorenzo Sangiorgi from Fusignano found, whose disappearance was reported last Wednesday; When he got out of the van, the water had swept him away. Today is national mourning.

Antimafia and controversy. Chiara Colosimo, 37, a member of the Brothers of Italy, is the new President of the Anti-Mafia Commission. Giorgia Meloni’s candidate was elected on the first ballot, to the applause of the majority and the protests of the opposition, who left the hall, with the exception of the Third Pole. Colosimo is Meloni’s “loyal” if there is one. It is part of the Prime Minister’s very small “magic circle”. The proximity to the former black terrorist Nar Ciavardini puts a strain on her. “There is no such thing as friendship,” she assures, but web archives are rarely forgiving. The appeals of the families of the victims of the mafia and terrorism, who urged the political forces not to vote for them, fell on deaf ears. The anti-mafia commission got off to a really bad start, in fact two MPs are on trial for crimes against public administration, Giuseppe Castiglione from Azione and Francesco Silvestro from FI.

ILARIA DEROSA. The Farnesina wants to expel from Saudi Arabia Ilaria De Rosa, the 23-year-old hostess from Treviso who was arrested with unclear contours during a dinner with friends at the end of an anti-drug operation. The impression is that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, according to intelligence sources. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, crimes related to the use and possession of even the smallest amounts of drugs are considered very serious and carry devastating prison sentences. The young woman has been living in Jeddah for three months, where she works for Avion Express. Minister Tajani is following the story closely. His father, Michele De Rosa, an Air Force officer serving at a NATO base in Belgium, has already reached Arabia.

Racism out of control in football. Seven people have been arrested in the last few hours for racist slurs against Real Madrid’s Brazilian striker Vinícius Júnior, a case that quickly took on the dimensions of an international controversy. Spanish police said the arrests were related to two separate incidents. Three in Valencia accused of “hate crimes” for those who took part in the chant of insults – including “monkey” – directed at the Brazilian star during Sunday’s loss to Real. Four arrests in Madrid for the hanging of a mannequin wearing a junior shirt in January. Brazilian President Lula also intervened in the matter. Brazil has officially complained to the Spanish ambassador that the lights at the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro were turned off for an hour.

I would also like to briefly point out that:

RAI SOVEREIGN. Once the Rai News leaders have been selected, the public information will continue to move to the right. Rg1 to Gian Marco Chiocci as premier; Rg2 to Antonio Preziosi (Fi), Rg3 and Rainews remain to Mario Orfeo (Pd) and Paolo Petrecca (FdI). The league keeps the TgR with Alessandro Casarin and adopts the Gr1 with Francesco Pionati. The M5 consoles itself with Giuseppe Carboni in the Rai Parliamento.

Goodbye RDC. In April 2023, the number of families receiving basic income dropped to 956,817. This has not happened since 2020 when it bottomed in October.

COVID WAVE, The virus is no longer scary. But China is preparing for a new wave of Covid-19, which will peak at the end of June with 65 million cases a week. A small peak of the Covid-19 infections with around 40 million infections per week is already expected at the end of May.

GERSHKOVIC REMAINS IN PRISON. The Moscow court has extended the provisional detention of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested last March on espionage charges, until August 31.

THE ANTI-TRUMP. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will announce today that he will run for the White House in a confrontation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. The only credible anti-Trump among Republicans is he.

ITALY CUP. Tonight the Stadio Olimpico in Rome hosts the Coppa Italia final between Inter and Fiorentina. Live from 9pm on Canale 5.

THE PICTURE OF THE DAY. The Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, one of many school massacres across the US, happened a year ago, on May 24, 2022. A boy with semi-automatic weapons broke into the elementary school in the quiet Texas town, taking 19 children and two teachers were killed. Unlike after other massacres, here a group of parents have not resigned themselves to the inevitability of such absurd deaths and have focused their efforts on HB2744, a state bill that would raise the minimum age for the purchase of some semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 years old . The killer here legally bought two “war” rifles just days after he turned 18. If you read the “weird” hashtag #HB2744 on social media today, you’ll know why.

I wish you a nice day today.

Patten will hold meetings with Deputy Secretary for Multilateral Affairs Elizabeth Taylor Jay and delegates from the Justice Department, Department of Defense, Office of the Ombudsman and Attorney General’s Office.

The opening portion of this day will be chaired by the President’s Advisor for Reconciliation, Eva Ferrer, and other departments of the President of the Republic.

One aim of these dialogues is, among other things, to learn more about the challenges and best practices in preventing and responding to sexual violence in the country and to get an overview of the current situation of victims in Colombia.

The purpose of this is to identify the support that the United Nations could provide to effectively respond to victims of sexual violence in armed conflict, said the Presidency press team.

It is the first time in 10 years that a special envoy on sexual violence in armed conflict is visiting Colombia, a visit that will last until next Friday.

Yesterday the UN official met with local authorities, victims of sexual violence and civil society organizations in Cartagena.

His arrival in Colombia also comes to commemorate May 25, on the occasion of the National Day for the Dignity of Women Victims of Sexual Violence as part of the armed conflict (1959-2020), during which the country registered about 15 victims of sexual violence, out of a thousand 760 cases of this kind.

According to the National Center for Historical Memory’s Observatory on Memory and Conflict, 92 percent are women, of whom 30 percent are girls and youth between the ages of 14 and 17.

Faced with this scenario, the national government will establish an emergency plan to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and establish a culture of equality based on respect for human rights.

The agenda of the United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict in the Country was promoted by the Presidential Council for Reconciliation through the Department of State.

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In conversation with the head of Twitter, Musk, broadcast on Twitter, the governor of Florida announced his plan to become a Republican candidate and challenge President Joe Biden, according to American broadcasters Fox and NBC News. The show is scheduled to start in the evening. Musk shared a corresponding message from a Fox News journalist on Twitter, who also reported on DeSantis’ plan.

DeSantis’ entry into the Republican primary race against former President Trump has been expected for some time. The decision to make its announcement with the controversial billionaire Musk came as a surprise, writes the New York Times. The Republican will reach a large audience online.

SMASH: @Fox News confirms governor of Florida @RonDeSantis will announce his 2024 presidential run tomorrow night at 6 pm ET in a Twitter Spaces interview with @elonmusk.

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 23, 2023

Musk confirmed to the Wall Street Journal in an interview that he would be interviewing DeSantis. “He has a big announcement to make,” Musk said. The conversation will not be scripted, but spontaneous. When asked who he preferred for the 2024 election, the billionaire said he and most Americans want someone in office who is “reasonably normal”.

Old game with Twitter

The link between DeSantis and Musk will be moderated by US investor David Sacks, a Republican donor who is a supporter of DeSantis and close to Musk. Musk himself always says that he voted for US President Biden in 2020, but has since criticized him. According to the tech billionaire, the US government doesn’t talk enough about his company Tesla.

IMAGO/Suzanne Cordeiro With Musk, DeSantis enters the race for the White House

A Trump aide told Portal the Twitter announcement was “perfect”. “That way, DeSantis doesn’t have to interact with people and the media can’t ask him questions.” Trump himself has spoken to journalists repeatedly – ​​especially with Fox News. However, the former president usually communicates through social networks.

DeSantis is thus returning to an old Trump concept. Because Twitter was once the Republican’s most important megaphone. With his sometimes lewd and irritating tweets, he dominated the Republican primary campaign and media coverage. After January 6, 2021 (invasion of the US Capitol), Trump was banned from the platform. Although his access was restored shortly after Musk took over Twitter, he still hasn’t tweeted.

US election: Republican Ron DeSantis to run

Former President Trump, who wants to run again in the US presidential election in 2024, faces competition from his own Republican party. According to media reports, successful Florida governor Ron DeSantis wants to announce his candidacy.

Wife posts pathetic video

DeSantis’ wife Casey released a video Tuesday night that clearly alludes to the upcoming announcement. With the pathos of a Hollywood melodrama, the politician appears from behind a large stage with an American flag draped behind him.

To the applause of an unseen audience, a voice adds: “They call it faith because in the face of darkness one can see a brighter future. The belief that our best days are ahead of us.” In the video, DeSantis takes a deep breath and purposefully walks towards a curtain. When he opens and seemingly walks onto the stage, the video ends.

Trump already on the campaign trail

According to polls, the 44-year-old hardline conservative is currently the most promising Republican candidate next to Trump. Trump had already announced in November that he would enter the race for the presidential candidacy for the 2024 elections. DeSantis has been governor of the state of Florida, in the southern United States, since the beginning of 2019.

He was confirmed in office in November 2022 with a strong result – which also strengthened his position in view of his aspirations for higher things. He has long been considered the biggest internal competitor of Trump’s party, after years ago he was something of a mentor to him.

Before the father of three DeSantis made a career as a politician, he attended the elite universities of Yale and Harvard, was in the Navy – and served in Iraq. Prior to his gubernatorial election, DeSantis served several years as a representative in the House of Representatives.

1 of 1 Mikhail Mishustin and Li Qiang, Prime Ministers of Russia and China during their meeting in Beijing May 24, 2023 Photo: Portal/Thomas Peter/Pool Mikhail Mishustin and Li Qiang, Prime Ministers of Russia and China during a meeting in Beijing, on May 24, 2023 Photo: Portal/Thomas Peter/Pool

China is ready to take cooperation with Russia to a “new level,” Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday (24). Li met Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing.

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The Chinese premier said the country wants to work with Russia to promote pragmatic cooperation in various fields.

Li further said that the cooperation between the two countries has shown a good development trend and that the scale of investment between Russia and China continues to increase.

The meeting with the Russian prime minister in Beijing marks the first visit by a senior Kremlin figure to the Chinese capital since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Mishustin said that relations between Russia and China are at a high level and characterized by mutual respect for each other’s interests. The Russian leader also said that Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow was a confirmation of the special nature of bilateral ties.

When Xi visited Moscow in March, Beijing said the trip was China’s first step in trying to lead a new round of RussiaUkraine peace talks.

On the other hand, British and US intelligence agencies have already stated that Russia has started buying arms from China to counter Western support for Ukraine.

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